A Cooper Thing
by ShearViscosity
Summary: A young George Cooper is caught stealing. Again. Torn between going straight like his mother wants, or continuing his thieving ways, he discovers something interesting in Beka Cooper's shrine: her lost journals. Winner for the TPWE forum July Challenge.


This was written for the July Writing Challenge at the Tamora Pierce Writing Experiment forum. Don't forget to vote for the fic in the Tamora Pierce Writing Experiment forum under the July Challenge thread!

I do not own the rights to any of Tamora Pierce works.

**A Cooper Thing**

Eleni Cooper was once again picking her son up from the Jane Street Kennel. Although the number of times she had to retrieve him had decreased over the years, it wasn't because he was stealing less. If anything he was stealing more, but was merely getting better at it. Even though the Guards kept threatening him with work farms, each time he had managed to sweet talk his way out of it. With his big hazel eyes, quick wit, and silver-tongue he was never in the cages very long.

A tall Guard with dark hair released her scoundrel of a son into her custody. "I'm serious now. One more offense and it'll be off to the work farm with you. No more letting you go with a warning." The Guard then turned to address Eleni. "He didn't have the apple in his possession when we caught him, but since it was taken from one of the King's Own we had no choice but to bring him in." Eleni shook her head in disbelief. Her son had stolen from one of the King's Own of all people! _Goddess, what have I done to deserve such a child?_

George nodded his brown head and responded with, "Yes sir. You won't be catchin' me no more." Eleni shook her head at her son and gave him a stern look, noticing how he said 'catching' not 'stealing'. The Guard, however, believed the half-truth and patted George on the head. He just smiled a wide grin, the picture of innocence. Eleni furrowed her eyebrows at her son, not buying into his act.

Eleni grabbed her ten year-old's arm and dragged him out of the kennel toward home. "What am I going to do with you?" she exclaimed. "This is the seventh time I've had to pick you up at the kennel since you were six."

"Ninth," he said correcting her.

"Don't get smart with me George Cooper," Eleni said with a warning tone in her voice. "You heard them, one more time and it'll be to the work farm with you." George started to say something, but Eleni didn't give him the chance. "And don't think I missed the part where you won't be 'caught' again. Your mother is smarter than that and you know it."

"Yes, Mother," George said, careful to speak properly, instead of using Lower City slang. With the tone his mother was using, he knew better than to make her angrier than she already was.

"I told you, Coopers do not steal, they become the law. Rebakah Cooper must be turning over in her grave right now, knowing one of her descendants had been caught _again_ for stealing," Eleni scolded, putting emphasize on the again part.

George sighed. Whenever he got into mischief his mother would bring up his famous ancestress and how she wouldn't put up with his nonsense. About how she didn't deal with thieves, but hobbled them instead. His mother had done so since the first time he got caught four years ago. At first he loved hearing about her and how he was related to somebody famous. But she died centuries ago, and what good was her fame doing him now when he was hungry?

That's what got him into stealing in the first place, hunger. The stories about her deterred George for a while, but soon he was back to his thieving ways. Over the years his mother had done better at providing food, and it soon stopped being about hunger for George. Instead it had become more of a game, a challenge, to see what he could get away with. The other boys in the Cesspool would give him challenges. Steal those coins on the counter there from under the merchant's nose, lift that coin purse from the noble without getting noticed.

The current challenge had been nicking a Vivano apple out of a sack that one of the King's Own had been showing off. George had been more than happy to comply. Vivano's were his favorite, and stealing was his usual method of obtaining them due to their high price. He would have gotten away if it hadn't been for the horse nearby who started to raise a commotion at the sight of the apple. Apparently Vivano's were his favorite as well. The soldier had then turned around to see what the hubbub was, only to land eyes on George who was trying to sneak away.

As for the fate of the apple, George had let go of it the moment he knew he was spotted. No point in actually being caught with the evidence on him. It fell into a scum pile and was mushed by one of the Guards who wasn't paying attention to where his feet landed. George sighed. He had only been able to manage a couple bites of the apple before being made. The remaining chunk being flattened in the gutter due to a Guard's boot was not a fate such a good apple deserved.

If it hadn't been for the horse, George wouldn't have gotten caught, he had consoled himself as he was being led to the Jane Street Kennel. He always knew they were smarter creatures than humans gave them credit for.

Over time he had improved his skills at thieving and picked up others such as lock picking, street fighting, and had begun to learn how to throw knives from one of his neighbors that worked for the Rogue. Not that he would ever tell his mother. If she knew she would surely pack him up and move somewhere else like she did when she caught him learning lock picking at the last place they lived.

By this point they had reached their rooms. "I have to go back to my wares and hope to make up the coin I lost for being gone. Stay here and out of trouble!" she told George, locking the room behind her. She knew that wouldn't stop him, but hoped that her tone would at least.

With his mother gone, George wandered about the small room. There was a bed they shared, a small stove they used to cook, a wardrobe and a small desk with a chair. _Someday I'll live in a place five, no, ten times this size. Ma and I will have our own beds and space. No more loud neighbors or unfair landlords. Perhaps someplace out in the country, away from the smells and noise of the city. With a garden, she'll like that. _There was not a doubt in George's mind about this, his magic told him so.

It was then he came to the wardrobe with the shrine on top to that famous ancestress of his. Each time he was in trouble his mother would pull it down and lecture him about his no good thieving ways. Perhaps she was right. Maybe he should change his thieving ways and take on a legitimate profession like his mother wanted. Becoming a Guard would certainly make her proud. But George couldn't help but feel as if he was meant to be a thief. Almost as if it was his destiny, even. However, the look of disappointment in his mother's eyes as she picked him up from the kennel for the ninth time, gave him reason to pause. He loved his mother, and would do anything for her. Causing her pain was the last thing he wanted to do.

Pondering his fate, George pulled the chair over from the nearby desk to stand on. Carefully, he memorized the way the box laid and brought it down to eye level. Sitting on the chair he began to open the lid when he noticed something that he hadn't noticed before. There was something off about the box. He turned it around in his hands examining every inch of it, looking for what it was. After a couple minutes he figured it out. The depth on the outside was not the same on the inside. The bottom on the inside was a couple inches too short. George's familiar wide grin spread across his face. He had found something his mother and all his other ancestor's had missed. The box has a false bottom.

Ever the curious sort, he took out one of his pocket knives to pry it loose. Not before placing all the figurines gently on the desk. His mother would have his hide if anything happened to those. It took a couple tries, but his efforts paid off and the bottom popped free. Moving it aside George found three books.

_Books_, he wondered, _why would anyone hide books_. Flipping through, George saw the pages were crinkled yellow with age and the black ink was faded. Despite this, he could still make out on each cover were the words: "The Journal of Rebakah Cooper". Each book also had a small dragonfly and dates on the cover. The earliest dates were April 1, 246-May 11, 246. He decided it would be best to read that book first.

Looking down George realized how valuable his new-found treasure was. He had three journals of his famous ancestress in his hands. It was time to see if she was as perfect and noble as his mother always made her out to be. It would take some time to read all of them though, more time than George would have until his mother returned. He put the bottom back in the box, taking pains to make it look as if it was never moved. Then he did the same for the figurines on the desk, putting them back in their respective chronological order. From there it was a simple matter of remembering the box's original position above the wardrobe. George gave the Gods thanks for having a mother that valued cleanliness. Normally this was a problem for a little boy who would usually bring dirt and mud home after his many adventures, but it was now a blessing. He didn't have to worry about disturbing any dust surrounding the box's position that might give George away. Dust and dirt didn't last long in Eleni Cooper's home.

With that done, George then pried up a floor board to hide the two later books so he could concentrate on the first. He didn't have to worry about being caught unaware by his mother's return. The third, eighth, and eleventh floor boards on the staircase made noise at the slightest bit of weight upon them. By the time she had reached the top, George would have plenty of time to hide the book before his mother would reach the door. He knew that she would be thrilled about the journals and the fact that he was reading instead of getting into trouble. But George didn't want to share his find just yet. He wanted to read about this ancestress of his before anybody else did. Including his mother.

He opened the first of the journals and began to read the words, "Written on the morning of my first day on duty. I have this journal that I mean to use as a record of my days in the Provost's Guard..." The next bit had a line about how the memory was one's record when the hands are too busy, which he liked and made a note to remember the advice for later use.

With each turn of the page he was pulled even deeper into the journal and Beka's story. His face lit up like the night sky once he realized that Beka wasn't as noble as his mother made her out to be. She was still an honorable Dog, but she associated with thieves and members of the Rogue's court. She lived with them, ate with them, and as long as they didn't discuss their business with her, she didn't have to worry about hobbling them.

His favorite by far was Rosto the Piper. George admired his quick wit, and sharp skills he demonstrated when Crookshank barged into the Court to accuse the Rogue of killing his great-grandson. Although he appeared to be on the Rogue's side, George had been picking up comments made by him and Beka that implied he had come to Corus to take on the Rogue. George hoped so, by the sound of it he was a poor Rogue anyway, and George had no doubt that Rosto would be better.

George was at the part where Beka had just hobbled the woman who ran from her after threatening her children, when George could hear his mother's footsteps on the staircase outside the room. From the sound of them, he knew they were her's and not somebody else's due to the way she walked, and the way her bracelets jingled. Eleni Cooper unlocked the door to her room to find her son practicing his numbers at the desk.

"Hello, Mother," he said greeting her, "How was the rest of your day? Did you sell anything?"

"I sold a couple more charms," she answered. After the day she had, Eleni was too tired to question her son about what he had actually been up to. Knowing him, she wouldn't be surprised if he had cracked the window and climbed down onto the street to join his friends. His clothes didn't show signs of dirt or wear, but that didn't mean he didn't have a stash of clothes hidden somewhere for such a purpose. Sometimes the lad was too smart for his own good.

* * *

The next couple days passed without incident. George was still being punished for thieving, so Eleni would lock the door behind her, forbidding him from leaving the room. She would return at the end of the day to find her son and the room just as she left them. She suspected he was hiding something from her and was right. Once certain that she was down the steps and out the door, George would go to his hiding spot and retrieve the journal he was currently reading. By the third day he had finished the first and was on the second.

It was then, that George made up his mind about his fate. He was going to be a Rogue someday. He felt it boil in his blood, similar to how Beka's blood boiled with that of being a Dog. He knew this with every fiber of his being, and his magic told him it was true. He decided this fate after reading about how the Dancing Dove, was Rosto's new Court. George knew where the Dove was, and vowed to return the Court of the Rogue there, someday, just like Rosto.

Who his great-grandda was, George didn't know, but based on the interaction between the two, George hoped it was Rosto. Beka had pointed out his lack of a last name, so it would explain how the Cooper name was passed down the generations. If it was true, he could point out that being a Rogue was just as much in his blood as being a Dog was to his mother. No doubt she'd box his ears for saying such a thing, but even she couldn't deny it was true.

It was on the fourth day that Eleni Cooper found his secret stash. For his seemingly good behavior she had sent George out to run to the market to pick up some food for supper, and gave him an extra coin for a treat, while she cleaned. She figured some fresh air would do the lad good. Plus it got him out from under her feet. Eleni was sweeping the floor when she noticed that one board was sticking up a bit. Fiddling with it, she found it lifted up, and was hiding some books. One of George's hiding places no less. The books were no doubt responsible for occupying her son's time the past couple days.

Curious as to what kind of books had kept her son's attention, she sat on the floor and turned them over in her hands, running her fingers over the worn cover. "Goddess," she cried, almost dropping them onto the floor once she saw who's name was written on the cover. How did her scamp of a son manage to come across her ancestress's journals? Eleni had heard the stories about them in her family, but they had supposedly been lost about a hundred years ago. And here they were, in one of her son's hiding spots.

When George got home from the market, after assuring his friends that his mother hadn't killed him after the apple incident and dumped his body in the river, he was met by an unexpected sight. The sight of his mother, sitting in the chair while tapping her foot impatiently. Behind her his hiding spot lay bared, with its contents in his mother's hands.

"Is there something you've been meaning to tell me, Mister Cooper?" she demanded of him. "Something that explains what the journals of our ancestress were doing hiding under the floor boards like common loot?"

George took a deep breath. He knew that he would have to tell his mother eventually about the journals, but he was hoping it wouldn't be until he was finished reading them. He had just reached the part where Beka had sought shelter at the Court of the Rogue after escaping from the Trebond noble.

"I found them in the false bottom of the shrine," he sheepishly admitted. "I didn't want you to know I had touched it without you knowing. I just didn't want you to be ashamed of me, and thought if I read them, I could learn some more about Beka to make you proud," he finished, scuffing his boot on the floor.

Eleni Cooper let out a sigh, and placed the books carefully on the desk before she began walking over to her son. George closed his eyes expecting another ear boxing, only to feel an embrace around him. Opening them, he saw his mother was hugging him. "George," she said softly, "I am proud of you. You're smart, and have the potential to be something great. I just want to see you use it for good and make something of yourself. I don't want my only son to end up at Executioner's Hill, before he's out of his teens."

"I know," George replied. "I promise, you won't see me hanging at the end of a rope. Instead I'll work hard, you'll see." Eleni let go of her son and stroked his head. Despite all the trouble he got in, he was a good lad really.

"Now, tell me about Beka. Have you learned anything from her journals?"

George had learned a lot. He had learned how to be a Rogue. It was important to have multiple exits that were always guarded. It wasn't just about being the King of Thieves, but was about looking out for the common folk as well. In times of crisis they would turn to him as their King, instead of the one at the palace. To remain Rogue one couldn't get sloppy, greedy, or lazy. Otherwise one wouldn't remain Rogue for long. When somebody threatened or hurt a loved one on your territory, it was important that someone be taught a lesson. If not, others could get dangerous ideas. Ciphers and codes were useful to the trade as well as maps. It was also possible to be friends with people on the other side of the law, as long as business didn't overlap. Not all nobles were bad, and some had their uses like knights. On the other end of the spectrum, never judge somebody based on their origins. You just might miss out on a good friendship. Animals were smarter than some humans gave them credit for and should be treated accordingly. They might turn out to be a constellation or god in disguise, or even save one's life someday. Slavers, child killers, and colemongers were a danger to society. When he was ready to bed women he should check to see if they had a charm first to prevent them from getting with child.

All of this he had learned from reading the journals, and very few of it he could tell his mother. She would learn it for herself once she started reading the journals, but for now it was best not to mention it. No need to put her in a foul mood. Instead he said, "I learned that one should appreciate his mother, for she might not always be with him." It was true, after all. Beka certainly seemed to miss hers.

Eleni chuckled at her son and his silver-tongue. "I suppose Beka's tale has inspired you to stay on the straight and narrow path?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

George raised an eyebrow of his own to match his mother's, before carefully responding, "Thank's to Beka's tale I now know what I want do with my life. I want to use my wits to help people who can't help themselves. I want to be the law. It's in the Cooper blood after all." Eleni beamed at his answer.

It was the response his mother wanted to hear, not knowing it held a double meaning. For something else George had learned from the journals was that there was another type of law besides the king's: the Rogue's. The current Corus Rogue was always changing, with each one lazier and greedier than the last. George vowed to change all that and return to the Court to its old ways. He wouldn't bother telling her about the Rogue's law. He also would keep his suspicions about Rosto being his ancestor and having Rogue blood a secret as well. She would learn all that on her own from reading the journals. Eventually. And no doubt, she would not be happy with the knowledge.

Yes, George had learned something from the first two journals, with one more to go. He had learned that determination, keeping one's wits about them, fighting the odds, defending the weak, and enforcing the law was a Cooper thing after all. Now if he could just manage to convince his mother that being the Rogue would be just as good as being a Guard. He doubted Beka herself, could help him with _that_ particular challenge.

****Author's Note****

This is my longest one-shot by far. Originally I was going to have a young Aly and Alan find the journals, but realized it would be better for George, considering his past profession. Plus, I always wondered what he would think if he read the journals of the ancestress his mother was always telling him about. I tried my best to keep George and Eleni in character, and I think I managed to pull it off.

I would like to thank KrisEleven and lionesseyes13 for a warm welcome on the forum. I've never participated in the challenges before, but the idea of George reading Beka's journals wouldn't leave me alone till I finally wrote it down. So here it is.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review letting me know what you thought of it if possible.


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